Byju Raveendran, the founder of edtech major Byju’s, had a closed-door meeting with 50 of the firm’s top leaders, to discuss the current situation and assuring them that this was a war on multiple fronts that they would ultimately win.
The meeting came amid a liquidity crisis faced by the firm, as it tries to raise money via multiple channels to keep operations going.
“A true entrepreneur is a war leader. What Byju’s is going through can only be seen as a war on multiple fronts against all odds,” said Byju Raveendran during the meeting.
He also apologised for not being able to give much face time to the team lately. “My regret is that I am letting down a wonderful team by not providing adequate capital,” added Raveendran.
He assured that in a few months, Byju’s would begin the journey back to “the heights where it belongs.”
Raveendran also gave updates on all the key issues that Byju’s has been embroiled in, from the term loan B issue to the ED notice, asset sales, and the current liquidity position.
Troubles addressed
Raveendran informed leaders that the company is engaged in active negotiations with the lenders. He said this challenge should be resolved after the sale of Epic.
Byju’s has received three bids so far for Epic, reported businessline. However, the company would have to tap into at least $80-100 million from the transaction while keeping the remainder for term loan B (TLB) lenders.
He also clarified that the notice is related to procedural deficiencies under FEMA and that most of these issues have already been addressed, along with the Davidson Kempner (DK) loan raised against Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL), which has now been resolved with Ranjan Pai taking over the loan. He also said that Aakash is now set for a promising admissions season.
He also informed the leadersip that the closure of the ongoing FY23 statutory audit is on track to be completed soon.
Byju’s CEO Arjun Mohan shared the company’s plan to increase productivity by incorporating Artificial Intelligence to all aspects of business, including product, sales, and marketing.
The plan revolved around better monetising the existing assets and offering more options across price points and product ranges to potential customers.
Reduced notice period
This comes at a time when Byju’s has reduced the notice period of employees to 15-30 days from 30-60 days depending upon seniority, according to sources.
For the employees who are at levels 1 to 3 — executives, associates, specialists, senior associates, team leads and others, the notice period would be 15 days, while for Level 4 and above the notice period would be 30 days.
Byju’s has been under fire for a range of issues, including accounting irregularities, ED notices, mass layoffs and repayment of TLB loan.